


Demons

by OneoftheCacti



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Acnologia needs to chill tf out, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gajeel is the best bro, LGBTQ Themes, LGBTQ+ characters, M/M, Natsu picks fights, Slow Burn, Zeref is so extra, mentions of past rlationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 13:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11105397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneoftheCacti/pseuds/OneoftheCacti
Summary: While everyone searches through the rubble of FACE, Rogue discovers an injured mage who seems to be a victim of demonic experimentation. With the battle won and the dragons departed, everyone thought their troubles ended with the defeat of Tartarus. Little do they know, that Acnologia will soon return with a new target in mind.





	Demons

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all. 
> 
> This is a story I started back in 2014 on fanfiction.net, where I go by ofthehallows. 
> 
> I'll have more notes at the end, so I hope you enjoy this chapter meanwhile.
> 
> ALSO: the language OC uses in this story might seem reminiscent of our languages, but I literally just threw letters and words together, so don't hurt yourself by thinking of their meaning outside this story. This has been a PSA.
> 
> LAST THING: I'm still figuring out the formatting on this site *sweats*, so apologies if anything looks wonky :)
> 
> (Multiple POV)

Exactly one hour had passed since the destruction of FACE, and the defeat of the demon guild, Tartarus.

 

It was a miracle when Igneel and the other dragons appeared to combat Acnologia and destroy the pillars, because the death toll would have been extensive otherwise. The Dragon of Chaos escaped after getting a sound beating from Igneel, but alas, the Fire King fell as a result. His time in this world came to an end.

 

After the carnage ceased, it was evident that the book of END had disappeared as well.

 

It was strange to think a simple object, such as a book, could bring about such calamity.

 

 

                                                                                                                                ---                                                                        

 

 

After the pillars were destroyed, everything fell into ruin.

 

 

What was left of the Tartaros headquarters was quickly buried underneath the debris of FACE. The earth shook as the they fell.

After the dust cleared, everyone who wasn't severely injured or incapacitated began to sift through the rubble to search for any remaining survivors.

 

Lucy teamed up with Levy and ten others to dig up piles of rock in hope of finding anything, or anyone, to salvage. She badly wanted to comfort Natsu, but thought it best to give him time to grieve.

 

                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                 ---

 

 

On the other side of the perimeter, Rogue and Sting helped and unconscious Minerva make it back across the mile-long dead zone to where the other mages gathered.

When they heard earlier that Natsu managed to defeat the Mard Geer, all three of them were stunned.

They already knew he was an anomaly, but neither Sting or Rogue combined could handle the demon- and Sting had a lot to say when he got over the initial shock at the news.

 

" _Jesus fucking Christ_! How in the hell am I gonna keep up with that guy? We're over here _\-- getting our asses kicked--_  and he comes out swinging like a fucking machine after hours of this shit!"

 

Yeah.

 

Sting was still sore over their loss in the Grand Magic Games-- Rogue knew he admired Natsu, but he sighed and hung his head when he thought about how long he'd have to endure his ranting.

 

Suddenly, he felt a change in the wind—and perked up to scan the surrounding terrain.

 

 

_"-elp…"_

 

 

It was barely audible, but Rogue heard it well enough to know he wasn't hallucinating. _What the fuck was that?_

 

"Did you hear that?" He reached over and placed a hand on Sting’s shoulder to stop their gait.

 

Sting was still complaining about Natsu when Rogue spoke, but stopped and shot him a questioning look.

 

"Hear what?" He raised an eyebrow. "Somethin' wrong?"

 

Obviously, Sting was too busy sulking to have heard it, but Rogue swore there was something...

 

 

_"Help..."_

 

 

There it was again.

 

It wasn't so much of a vocalization, as it was a thought- or a whisper- traveling on the wind.

Rogue could tell it came from not too far away, and directly north of their current location. And since it could be a survivor, he decided it would be a good idea to investigate.

 

"Take Minerva and keep going," he said, and carefully removed her arm from around his shoulders while Sting repositioned to accommodate the weight.

 

"And where are _you_ going?" He eyed Rogue with look of mild annoyance.

 

Rogue didn't reply, but instead looked in the direction of the call, seeing if anything had appeared in the distance.

 

"I need to check something out, go on ahead."

 

Due to the severity of her injuries, Rogue didn't want Minerva to be left untreated too long, and he knew Sting would get her back to civilization safely. So, he figured it would be best if they kept moving.

 

"Alright, be careful" Sting nodded and continued on.

 

Rogue nodded in return, and stayed planted in that spot until they made it a fair way over the debris. Once they were but specks in the distance, he turned and began heading towards an enormous mountain of rubble in the distance.

 

 

                                                                                                                                 ---

 

 

As Rogue got closer to the source of the noise, he began to pick up a few telling scents.

 

Blood-- lots of blood. And fear.

 

He was cautious in his approach, for he had no idea whether he would encounter an ally or foe. So, _very slowly_ , he peered around the mound to survey the area.

 

At first, he didn't see anything, but was able to clearly hear somebody shouting from across the piles of debris. Rogue could just make out a feminine voice (that sounded near hysterical), and the rasp of ragged breathing.

 

_"-lease stop- they're gone!"_

 

The owner of the voice seemed to be pleading with a second person in the clearing, who he quickly found was the source of the metallic scent that wafted from the area.

 

Only someone heavily injured could produce such a smell.

 

He decided then would be a good time to move from his spot, and quietly slipped into the clearing. But what he saw took a few moments for his mind to process.

 

At first glance, he saw what looked like a purple cat in the middle of the clearing, contained in a tiny cage.

Upon seeing the wings sprouting from her back, Rogue realized that she was an Exceed, and the source of the voice he heard moments ago. But not the one that first caught his attention.

She didn't look hurt, but the look of terror on her face was enough to keep him on his toes.

 

He shifted his gaze towards a figure that stood (more like slouched) about twenty feet away.

A woman- tall in stature with a filthy mess of hair- swayed in place atop the broken nose of one of the FACE statues-- and looked about ready to topple off. Danger of falling aside-- that wasn't what worried him: she was injured. Heavily. She had numerous circular wounds that ran vertically up her limbs, and probably continued onto her abdomen or back (if the bloodstains on that filthy piece of cloth she wore were any indication).

Rogue was about to approach her, but was hit with an onslaught of magical energy when he took a step in her direction-- the sheer power of it made the surrounding ground rumble a with deafening hum.

 

 _Okay, let's not do that,_ he thought.  _M_ _ight as well be dealing with a wild animal..._

 

 

 _"You need to calm down, Kat! Can't you hear me?!"_ The Exceed began to cry as she desperately tried to free herself from the cage, and it was only then she noticed of Rogue was even there. _"Stay back! Don't get any closer, she'll kill you!"_   her voice barely audible over the noise.

 

Rogue understood that she was telling him to retreat, but he couldn't just leave them both there. Especially the woman, whom the Exceed called "Katja".

 

 _"It's alright,"_ he called back, _"I'm here to help.”_

 

When he got close enough, he realized that Katja’s eyes were black. Not just black, devoid of any light.

Rogue could also spot what appeared to be dark crystalline scales that formed on her face and forearms, that molded over her skin and hooked into claws at the ends of her fingers.

He looked closer and saw what seemed to be a large stone that rested in the center of her forehead, but he couldn’t be sure, because the light of the setting sun suddenly refracted off of her scales in a blinding display.

He was baffled- never having seen such magic- but he didn't have the time to ponder it.

 

Katja seemed to have taken notice of his presence, because her body stiffened and she looked right at him.

He stood stark still so as not to frighten her in her current state, and it was only afterward about a minute she began to speak-- her voice resounding through his bones.

 

_"Bösaraga o-"_

 

Rogue couldn't find the will to move as she recited a spell in a language unknown to him. The only warning he had was the Exceed make a noise of alarm.

 

_"Katja, no-!"_

 

_"-Schal!"_

 

He braced himself for the attack.

 

Rogue waited to feel some sort of impact, but only heard a glassy _whoosh_ from somewhere behind him.

He didn't move for a good thirty seconds out of shock, but then turned around slowly to see what had transpired.

 

His blood ran cold at the sight before him, and it would appear in his dreams for weeks after.

 

There was a figure who seemed to be a faceless minion of Tartaros—frozen in place holding a wicked knife overhead. Barely visible through the dark, glassy material it was trapped in.

He had no idea what to make of this.

 

First of all, this _woman_ and this _cat_ appeared out of nowhere after what had been nearly the _end of the world_. Then, she summoned a magic he’d never seen, spoken a language he didn’t even _recognize_ \-- _let alone understand--,_ and now (to his astonishment) she just saved him from being stabbed in the back.

 

Needless to say, it's been one hell of a day.

 

Rogue thought he must have checked out for a second, because he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt an impact on the ground near his feet. He turned to see that Katja was out cold and bleeding on the ground in front of him, and the Exceed began to panic. He quickly knelt to survey the damage when he noticed how heavily she was breathing (well, more like _wheezing)_. The dark scales covering her body had receded completely, only leaving scars and fresh wounds on her ashen skin.

 

At this point, Rogue decided that he didn't have the time to waste here. He should be getting her and the Exceed back to camp for medical attention.

 

He quickly went and broke the lock on the Exceed's cage, who then flew over and pawed at Katja's face, began to hyperventilate when she didn't even so much as twitch. Rogue sighed and went over to calm her.

After a few minutes, she had stopped panicking enough to help hoist Katja onto his back. He tried to be mindful of her wounds, but the continued oozing blood even after he had her settled.

Katja was heavier than she looked (her height didn’t help), and made him stumble a bit while standing up, but he found that he could carry her well enough.

 

The purple Exceed, whom he now knew as Eve, seemed to be in good enough health to fly next to him for most of the walk back, which ended up taking about an hour. Eve was helpful in ways of keeping an eye on Katja, and moving hair out of his face so that he could see (he lost his hair-tie some time ago during the previous battle, and it annoyed him that his hair kept falling in his eyes and sticking to his forehead).

 

Near the end of their trek, Eve lost the energy to fly, so she spent the last ten minutes clinging to the top of his head.

 

 

                                                                                                                                     ---

 

 

The three of them made it back to the makeshift camp just as the sun began to set, and Rogue was about ready to collapse.

 

Their journey probably wouldn't have taken such a toll on him if he didn't have to consistently climb over piles of debris. And it didn't help any that Katja was also a deadweight while unconscious.

 

Rogue looked around as he trudged further into the grounds and, after a minute, caught sight of Sting, who was casually flipping his dagger while chatting up some other mage he can't remember the name of. Soon enough, Sting took notice of them and started walking towards their little group.

 

"Rogue, where the _fuck_ have you been? And who the hell is _that_?" Sting leaned around him to get a peek at the person on his back. Rogue gave him an annoyed look out of fatigue.

 

"Later," he grunted, "Where’s Madame Porlyusica?"

 

Sting pouted, but then turned and began shouting obnoxiously.

 

 _"Porlyusica! My oh-so-serious friend could use some help~”_ Sting chortled, “There. Happy?"

 

Rogue could feel his eye twitch, and was seriously considering punching the man, but then saw the two healers come out of a tent-- and start towards them at quite a clip.

Wendy made it to him before Porlyusica by a few moments, but stopped dead when she spotted the purple Exceed that sat on top of his head. After a few seconds, Rogue started to feel uncomfortable under her unrelenting stare, but lucky for him, Porlyusica came to his rescue when she shoved past Sting and marched up to him.

 

"Who have you found? _Quickly boy- Let me see!_ _"_

Porlyusica was in complete nurse mode-- nobody who valued their life dared to get in the way while she was in this state.

Rogue turned so that Katja was visible from where she rested on his back, and began shifting her body

 

"Her name is Katja" he said.

After he handed the unconscious woman off to Porlyusica and another mage that came to help, he gently pried Eve off his head and held her out to Wendy. "This Exceed seems to be close to the girl, she'll tell you what you need to know." But when she moved to take Eve, she clamped onto Rogue’s sleeve, puffed up and hissed in fear.

Wendy recoiled a bit, but then gave her a kind smile and calmly encouraged her to let go of his jacket.

 

"It's alright now. Why don't you come with me and we'll get you cleaned up?"

 

Eve kept her body stiff a little while longer, but gradually relaxed, and agreed to go.

 

After they disappeared into the tent, Rogue walked over to the camp's edge and collapsed onto a log.

 

It wasn’t even five minutes before he started to doze.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys :)
> 
> I just wanted to thank you for reading the first chapter of this rewritten story.
> 
> Long story short: after a lot of real life shit and a long hiatus, I decided to rewrite and cross-post it here from fanfiction.net, because I'm still in love with the idea and I like this site a lot more. So, I will be rewriting the chapters I have and continuing the story from there. 
> 
> Sadly, I cannot guarantee an update schedule because of work and summer classes, but I really hope you guys like the story as much as I do. And with Fairy Tail ending soon, it'll be easier to expand on ideas I had without worrying about a lot of the canon elements. 
> 
> And to those of you who may have read this years ago back on FF (and now on here), thank you so, so much.
> 
> For real, you guys kept me going and motivated to continue this, and I love you all *cries* 
> 
> That being said, I cant wait to get back into it :)
> 
> Love,  
> your friendly neighborhood cactus


End file.
